Friendship group keeps MLK dream alive in NC

Dr. Tyrone Bledsoe, center, is CEO and president of the Student African American Brotherhood, an organization that fosters education and future success among African-American and
Latino youth. Bledsoe will be the keynote speaker at this year’s
Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration in Tryon.

Photo provided

By GINA MALONETimes-News Correspondent

Published: Thursday, January 24, 2013 at 9:52 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, January 24, 2013 at 9:52 a.m.

TRYON — Sometimes good things are born out of bad times. In Tryon, a group bent on crossing the lines that society often draws in the sand is a fine example.

I n 1986, word spread around Tryon that some unwelcome visitors might be passing through. Not just passing, but marching down Trade Street, right through the middle of town.

A new national holiday had been put on the calendar that year: the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. One of the groups opposed to the idea was the Ku Klux Klan.

In April, when Tryon residents heard about the scheduled march and rumors of a possible violent protest by the town’s youth, they took action. About 50 residents — black and white — met at the home of Bill Holcombe to decide how best to confront this expression of intolerance. Though black and white Tryon residents lived in separate neighborhoods, as many still do today, it was not a community where racial unrest darkened the days.

This group of people from both sides of town decided to form a group — loosely organized, but harmoniously oriented. They became the Thermal Belt Friendship Council, made up of people from all backgrounds, socioeconomic levels and colors who share good times together. What began then as a reaction to an unwelcome faction of the outside world has now become a natural drawing together of neighbors for friendship and good times.

The Klan did come through in 1986, but few people were on the streets and sidewalks when it did, and the ones who were reportedly turned their backs as the marchers passed. Businesses scheduled to be open closed their doors until the march was over. By the end of that year, the Friendship Council had met numerous times for potluck dinners and held its first community picnic, with more than 300 black and white residents attending. It is a tradition that remains to this day.

Today, Dr. Joseph Fox, a Tryon native and chairman of the Department of Business Admin-istration at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, nity College, is president of the organization. The group holds monthly meetings and luncheons. There are no membership dues, nor requirements.

“We want the community to realize this is their organization,” Fox said. “We want there to be no barriers to participation.”

The meetings are where business is taken care of — planning events, deciding on a scholarship recipient every year.

The purpose of the luncheons is twofold, Fox said. “The first goal,” he said, “is to increase our visibility and to let others see black, white and Latino individuals sharing a good meal, fun and fellowship. Our second goal is to provide financial support to local small businesses.”

To the latter end, he said, the group stays away from chains, meeting instead at “mom-and-pop restaurants” in the area.

Its budget is small, but then its operating expenses are low. Funding comes primarily through grants and donations, although some fundraisers are held. Meetings are held at Roseland Community Center on the Eastside, Tryon’s historically black neighborhood. The center offers them use of the facility free of charge; members repay in kind by putting it on their route when they get together for their annual spring community cleanup and planting of flowers on the Eastside.

The Friendship Council’s biggest event is the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration. Always free to the public, this event brings noted speakers and highlights regional talent as a means of fostering racial harmony. Each year during the ceremony, a scholarship is awarded to a graduating high school student from Polk County or Landrum.

Area young people are invited to be ushers for the event. Fox said he would like to see more young people involved with the council. Over the years as the population has aged, many of the original members have died. There is a desire among members also to see more Latino residents coming out for meetings and events, since the group promotes diversity and seeks to bridge racial gaps in the community.

“I think we’re in for a treat,” Fox said of this year’s speaker, Dr. Tyrone Bledsoe, a nationally renowned speaker and CEO/president of the Student African American Brotherhood.

This organization, with more than 260 chapters in 40 states, seeks to provide guidance to African-American and Latino youth in middle and high schools, helping them to stay in school and furthering their education with college. Bledsoe was selected as this year’s speaker, Fox said, “because of his ability to motivate and inspire not only youth and young adults but everyone that he addresses.”

Entertainment during the program will be provided by Brian Belin, owner and director of VP Music Studios in Hendersonville.

Belin will perform two solo numbers. Also on the program will be a presentation on the Freedom Riders and their contribution to the Civil Rights movement.

The public is invited to this free event, made possible through grants from The Polk County Community Foundation and donations. It takes place at 6 p.m. Friday at the Tryon Fine Arts Center.

For more information about the Thermal Belt Friendship Council, visit its website at http://friendshipcouncil. homestead.com.

<p>TRYON — Sometimes good things are born out of bad times. In Tryon, a group bent on crossing the lines that society often draws in the sand is a fine example.</p><p>I n 1986, word spread around Tryon that some unwelcome visitors might be passing through. Not just passing, but marching down Trade Street, right through the middle of town.</p><p>A new national holiday had been put on the calendar that year: the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. One of the groups opposed to the idea was the Ku Klux Klan.</p><p>In April, when Tryon residents heard about the scheduled march and rumors of a possible violent protest by the town's youth, they took action. About 50 residents — black and white — met at the home of Bill Holcombe to decide how best to confront this expression of intolerance. Though black and white Tryon residents lived in separate neighborhoods, as many still do today, it was not a community where racial unrest darkened the days.</p><p>This group of people from both sides of town decided to form a group — loosely organized, but harmoniously oriented. They became the Thermal Belt Friendship Council, made up of people from all backgrounds, socioeconomic levels and colors who share good times together. What began then as a reaction to an unwelcome faction of the outside world has now become a natural drawing together of neighbors for friendship and good times.</p><p>The Klan did come through in 1986, but few people were on the streets and sidewalks when it did, and the ones who were reportedly turned their backs as the marchers passed. Businesses scheduled to be open closed their doors until the march was over. By the end of that year, the Friendship Council had met numerous times for potluck dinners and held its first community picnic, with more than 300 black and white residents attending. It is a tradition that remains to this day.</p><p>Today, Dr. Joseph Fox, a Tryon native and chairman of the Department of Business Admin-istration at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, nity College, is president of the organization. The group holds monthly meetings and luncheons. There are no membership dues, nor requirements.</p><p>“We want the community to realize this is their organization,” Fox said. “We want there to be no barriers to participation.”</p><p>The meetings are where business is taken care of — planning events, deciding on a scholarship recipient every year.</p><p>The purpose of the luncheons is twofold, Fox said. “The first goal,” he said, “is to increase our visibility and to let others see black, white and Latino individuals sharing a good meal, fun and fellowship. Our second goal is to provide financial support to local small businesses.”</p><p>To the latter end, he said, the group stays away from chains, meeting instead at “mom-and-pop restaurants” in the area.</p><p>Its budget is small, but then its operating expenses are low. Funding comes primarily through grants and donations, although some fundraisers are held. Meetings are held at Roseland Community Center on the Eastside, Tryon's historically black neighborhood. The center offers them use of the facility free of charge; members repay in kind by putting it on their route when they get together for their annual spring community cleanup and planting of flowers on the Eastside.</p><p>The Friendship Council's biggest event is the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration. Always free to the public, this event brings noted speakers and highlights regional talent as a means of fostering racial harmony. Each year during the ceremony, a scholarship is awarded to a graduating high school student from Polk County or Landrum.</p><p>Area young people are invited to be ushers for the event. Fox said he would like to see more young people involved with the council. Over the years as the population has aged, many of the original members have died. There is a desire among members also to see more Latino residents coming out for meetings and events, since the group promotes diversity and seeks to bridge racial gaps in the community.</p><p>“I think we're in for a treat,” Fox said of this year's speaker, Dr. Tyrone Bledsoe, a nationally renowned speaker and CEO/president of the Student African American Brotherhood.</p><p>This organization, with more than 260 chapters in 40 states, seeks to provide guidance to African-American and Latino youth in middle and high schools, helping them to stay in school and furthering their education with college. Bledsoe was selected as this year's speaker, Fox said, “because of his ability to motivate and inspire not only youth and young adults but everyone that he addresses.”</p><p>Entertainment during the program will be provided by Brian Belin, owner and director of VP Music Studios in Hendersonville.</p><p>Belin will perform two solo numbers. Also on the program will be a presentation on the Freedom Riders and their contribution to the Civil Rights movement.</p><p>The public is invited to this free event, made possible through grants from The Polk County Community Foundation and donations. It takes place at 6 p.m. Friday at the Tryon Fine Arts Center.</p><p>For more information about the Thermal Belt Friendship Council, visit its website at http://friendshipcouncil. homestead.com.</p>